Mythic Legends Saga: The Struggle for the Truth
by M M Forever
Summary: Matt struggles to overcome his past and realizes that he has to deal with unwanted feelings of love. Chapter nine, Too Tired to Care, is now up! Please R&R! Unless you plan to flame because you do not like Mimato, Taiora, or TKari Thank you!
1. Gone

Disclaimer- Well, if I didn't own Digimon back around 1999 when I became a Digimon fan, and I haven't won the lottery or come into any huge inheritance since then, and I'm paying for college out of my own pocket, what are the chances that I've acquired the rights between then and now? 1:10000000000000000000000000000000000000000 you say? Yeah, you're getting there…… Let me tell you, it hasn't happened.

Author's Note: From here on out my random annoying marks will be seen as A/N: 'blah blah, oh, and blah…' got it? This portion of this saga will be Mimato (A/N: MY FAV. FOREVER!), Taiora, and TKari. Due to the fact that I know that there are still Mimato fans out there and I never really lost interested in my first Anime coupling, I will be attempting to revive these specific couplings and all their fans, so please R&R! And contact me if you're interested in helping or hosting a Mimato, Taiora, and TKari fan site!

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"TAI! TAI, WAKE UP!"

"…. huh?" he asked, groggily, not wanting to open his eyes. He rolled over, and muttered, "Five more minutes Mom. Just five more…."

"TAI, I AM NOT YOUR MOTHER! WAKE UP NOW! OUR DIGIMON ARE GONE!" A male voice bellowed in his ear. Instantly, Tai sprung up to face the tall blond who had just yelled at him, alert and prepared for a fight.

"What do you mean, they're gone?!" Tai asked in irritation. He glanced around the camp. "Where are they?"

"…. I don't know."

"MATT! WHERE ARE THEY?!"

"I told you, I don't know! Think, dung head, if I knew, would I have waken you up?!" Matt spat.

"Shut up Matt. I'm not a dung head."

"Whatever…."

"At least I wasn't the one on watch."

"I wasn't. It was Mimi's turn."

"Well, then I suggest you two both stop arguing and we ask her." Sora said from beside Tai. "You two are so loud when you're arguing, you woke me up! I'm amazed that no evil Digimon has found us yet." Tai lowered his head in shame.

"I'm sorry Sora," he apologized.

"That's ok," she answered with a smile. Then remembering that their Digimon were missing, she grew troubled. "Where could Biyomon have gone?"

"Don't worry Sora, we'll find her." Tai promised her as she turned to go find Mimi.

"'Don't worry Sora, I'll find her for you, because I'm head-over-heels in love with you!'" Matt mocked just as she disappeared within the thick, forest undergrowth.

"Shut up Matt. No I'm not."

"You know I'm right, so why deny?" Matt said in a sing-songy voice. "TAI AND SORA SITTIN-"

"I SAID SHUT UP ALL READY!" Tai yelled. Suddenly everyone in the camp was awake.

"Huh? What time is it Patamon?" T.K. asked, tiredly, rolling over to ask his Digimon. "Patamon? Patamon?! Patamon, where are you?!" he called, realizing that he was not to be found sleeping next to him where he had been only a few hours ago.

"Gomamon? Gomamon, this is not funny! Stop hiding!" Joe called into the outline of the trees. "You guys, Gomamon is gone! Huh? Where's everyone else?"

"I suppose that either one of two things have happened. Either they all ran after some evil and have not returned yet, or they have been kidnapped." Izzy, the computer genius of the group, hypothesized.

"Uh, Izzy, don't you mean Digi-napped?" Matt joked.

"Matt, this is no time to be telling jokes!" Joe stated loudly.

"Joe is correct. We should be concentrating on getting our Digimon back." Izzy mentioned.

"You're right, let's go find them!" Tai said, walking off into the woods.

"Hey Tai, aren't you forgetting someone?" Matt called.

"Huh?" he asked, coming back into the clearing. Looking around he saw his little sister sleeping on the ground next to T.K. "Oh, I thought she was up."

"But that's not who…."

He bent down next to her and shook her gently. "Kari, wake up." She stirred and woke up, rubbing her eyes.

"What's wrong Tai?" she asked curiously. "It's still dark."

"Our Digimon are missing," he replied.

"What?! Gatomon is gone?!" She asked, freaking out. "Where is she? Where is she Tai?!"

"We don't know. That's why we're going to go look for them now. Calm down, we'll find them. "Don't worry Kari, we'll find them." He stood once again, and headed off into the forest.

"TAI! YOU'RE FORGETTING SOMEONE!" Matt yelled again.

"I know Matt! Hurry up everyone; we're never going to find them just standing there!" he called.

"Tai, you thick skulled ding-bat! We're forgetting Mimi!"

"Who?" Tai asked, coming out of the tree line once again. Matt shook his head.

"Mimi… and your Sora," he added, snickering.

"… Matt, she's not my Sora, she's everybody's Sora."

"Doesn't mean you don't wish," he pointed out.

"Oh shut up, both of you, and let's go find them." T.K. said, seeing that a heated argument was about to break out.

"Fine." Both boys said, turning away from each other. Everyone headed off in different directions in search of the two girls. Tai went in one, Izzy and Joe in another, T.K. and Kari headed off in another, and Matt took off in the opposite direction. Sora was soon found by Tai.

"I didn't see Mimi, she isn't where she was when she was keeping watch," Sora told Tai. "I don't understand, where could she have gone?"

"Maybe she was kidnapped along with our Digimon." Tai suggested. Sora's eyes suddenly filled up with tears. "But then again, maybe she just wandered off somewhere, and went back to the camp," he added, seeing that his first idea probably was what was making her cry. After all, the two usually seemed joined by the hip, for wherever one of them was, the other would be.

"I hope so…" she said, but she didn't sound too convinced. Soon the two soon met up with T.K. and Kari, and then later Izzy and Joe. None of them had seen Mimi.

Meanwhile…

Matt walked silently down the path to the lake. He didn't know why, but for some stupid reason he thought that Mimi might be down there.

'Maybe she got tired and went to wash her face so she could stay up,' the blond thought. He hated when people called him stupid because he was a blond, and usually had to fight the urge to say 'Well, what happened to Tai? He's not a blond, yet he's as dumb as an ox.' He soon reached the lake, only to find that it was deserted.

"Mimi?" he called. "Mimi, are you down here?" When no reply came, he backed up and was about to turn around when he tripped over something and he fell to the ground, knocking the wind out of him.

'Stupid log,' he thought. 'But then again, it was too soft for a log, even a rotting one.' After a while, he was able to breathe freely, and he managed to get to his knees.

'Now, time to find out what made me fall…' he said to himself. He crawled over to where he thought he had been when the accident had occurred, but could see nothing that could have made him trip.

'I couldn't have imagined it, could I? But how could I have tripped if nothing was there? Maybe I'm looking in the wrong spot?' Matt slowly got to his feet and looked into the night sky. The moon, which had been out only minutes before had crept behind dark clouds. 'I hope it doesn't rain.' The sound of movement in the bushes made him lower his gaze. Suddenly a small Digimon jumped out of the bushes and scampered off into the night just before Matt could get a good look at him. 'Boy he was fast.' Suddenly, a pink cowboys' hat caught his attention. He picked it up and looked at the price tag that was on it. It read: $43.95. Underneath it read: M. Tachikawa.

'This is Mimi's all right,' he sighed. 'Not only because of her name, but because she's got to be the only one who adores pink and has $43.95 to spend on a hat!' Matt glanced around. There was no sign of her anywhere.

'She must have dropped it on her way back to camp.' He turned once again to head back, but he had not taken more than five steps when the moon reappeared, giving light to a pink huddled figure laying a few feet from the path. 'THERE she is,' Matt sighed with relief. 'She must have fallen asleep.' He approached her and knelt down beside her. She was on her stomach, lying on the soft moss below a huge Cam fir tree, a tree that was native to the area of Tokyo. He shook her gently, softly calling her name.

"Mimi. Mimi, wake up. Mimi. Hey, it's time to get up sleepy head. Mimi?" He shook her a little harder, but still she did not stir. Matt frowned.

'Great. I guess I'll just have to carry her back.' He rolled her on her back and gave a small gasp. She had a huge, swollen lump on the side her forehead, and it was bleeding badly!

"Oh my God, what happened?!" Knowing that he'd have to stop the bleeding somehow, he dug into his pockets, only to discover they were empty. 'Great, now what do I do?!' He glanced around and saw Mimi's tan bag on the ground only a few feet away. 'It's a good thing she's not awake to see this, 'cuz if she knew I went through her stuff, she'd probably _kill_ me.' Grabbing it, he pulled it open and dumped it out on the ground. There were cans of cooking fuel, a water bottle, a broken compass, a pocket knife, makeup (consisting of a few pink lipsticks, eye shadow, mascara, foundation, and blush), a nail clipper, two boxes of matches, two very small Band-Aids, her brown gloves, two pink handkerchiefs, a pink mini bag containing a bathing suit and a small towel, a pack of eight gel pens (pink, green, blue, orange, red, yellow, gray, purple), and … a pink diary! Matt picked it up with a grin.

'Too bad this isn't the time; I could have a ball reading this thing!' He set it down again, and picked up one of the handkerchiefs. 'I hope she doesn't mind if this gets ruined. If so, I'll buy her two when we get back home…if we ever get home that is….' He gently pressed it against her wound to stop the bleeding. He took the water bottle and the other handkerchief and ran down to the lake. He filled the water bottle, and dampening the handkerchief, ran back to Mimi. She was a pale white, even her lips, and the red blood really stood out against her face. He thought of leaving it on her, but thought better of it.

'It probably might get Tai to notice that she exists more often, but then Joe might pass out,' he thought, completely sickened by their leader for almost leaving her behind, even more so now, knowing that she'd probably have died if he hadn't spoken up. It ticked him off too that it had been him who had mentioned it, and that no one else had remembered that she wasn't with them when they were about to leave her, even his own brother, most likely when she needed them most.

"Some friends they are," he spat. He looked at her once again as he began to wash the blood off of her face. She seemed so helpless, so alone and friendless. "Don't worry Mimi; I'll be your friend. For always and ever."

He finished wiping the blood off, and ran down to the lake and rinsed the handkerchief out. By the time he got back to her, she had a little color in her face, but not much. He bent down and felt her forehead. It was burning hot!

"I'd better get her to Joe quick, before she gets any worse," he thought. "I just hope I find him in time!"

He quickly packed her bag up again and slung it across his shoulder. Taking her hat, he put his head through the strings and let it fall behind him. 'This is got to look pretty bad,' he admitted to himself. 'I'm glad no one has a camera, because I certainly do NOT want a picture of this!' Placing the wet handkerchief on her forehead (and leaving the dry one over her wound), he slid his arms under her frail body and lifted her up so that her head was against his shoulder. He headed off towards camp, walking as fast as he could.

About half way there, the moon once again disappeared behind the black clouds that were threatening to rain down on the two. As a few drops began to fall on them, Matt instinctively pulled her closer to keep her dry and warm from the freezing cold rain. A chilly breeze blew by them, and they both shivered. A slight moan escaped Mimi, and she unconsciously reached up and grabbed a handful of his green tank top, drawing herself even closer to him. Matt stopped dead in his tracks, alarmed by her sudden movement. Thoughts began to race through his head, wondering if she knew what she had done. His breathing greatly shortened from shock, he stared down at her face. She wore a smile, as a side of her face was buried into his muscled chest with pleasure. Matt's heart began to race. Did she really enjoy it, or was she thinking of someone else as she did so? Or was he just losing it?

Then, in an ever so small voice, two words began to speak themselves in his mind, over and over, the two simplest words in the entire world. But no, he would not listen to them, for those two words could only mean one thing, one word, and he refused to speak it, for that one little word had brought him so much pain and suffering. That one little word had meant the end of the life that he knew, and because that one little word had so many consequences, he became how he was now, a loner, and he had refused to talk to his father about it. He knew his father wouldn't help, because he was never there for him, especially after it all happened, so many years ago. But that one word was powerful enough to still affect him to that very day, that very moment in time, and because of it, he did not heed those two little words, but continued on his way to the camp.

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M&M Forever


	2. If I don't, Tai

Disclaimer- Please see the first chapter.

Back at Camp…

Sora, Tai, and the others all stared at the empty campground. Sora was in shock and close to tears, while Tai was standing there, mouth open.

"But… I thought for sure that…." Tai said in disbelief. At that very moment, Matt burst from the trail carrying Mimi. "What the…."

"Joe!" Matt cried, springing forward and stopping in front of him, looking anxious. "Hurry, she's burning up with fever!"

"Are you serious?" he asked. Matt gave him a dirty look. "I mean, of course you're serious, I mean are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure!" Matt said, exasperatedly. "Just hurry, before it starts to rain harder!"

As if Mother Nature had heard him, the rain swiftly fell from the sky, causing the group to scatter. They finally settled on taking refuge under another large fir tree.

"Great. This is just prefect. Now what?" Tai said, exasperated.

"I suggest that we find a more dry area to camp until the storm dies down." Izzy recommended.

"What are we going to do about Mimi?" Matt asked. "She's sick, and this weather will only make her worse."

"I agree" Joe announced, backing Matt up. "If what Matt said is true, then if she doesn't get out of these conditions soon, I fear that she…" he trailed off, not wanting to believe that losing her was even a choice. Matt knelt down and laid her on the soft moss that covered the base of the tree, taking off her hat and purse and placing them next to her.

"Joe? Sora? Kari?" Matt asked, standing back up as the three at once crowded around her. "Can you three watch over Mimi while T.K., Tai, Izzy and I search for a better place to camp?"

"No problem," Joe said. "Just hurry back, ok?"

"We'll try," Tai said. "Just stay safe, alright?"

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Sora declared.

Tai and Izzy headed off into the forest, while T.K. and Matt took off towards the hills on their right. Tai and Izzy searched for about an hour, but the only possible place they saw was a group of clustered trees that provided a little more protection than that of the fir tree.

"Perhaps it would be a good idea to take back some of the dry wood for firewood." Izzy counseled. "Maybe Matt and T.K. were able to find a better place to camp."

"Good idea." Tai agreed. "But what are we going to light it with? Agumon isn't here, remember?"

"It is possible that someone has matches or a lighter." Izzy implied, but the idea didn't sound too probable to him. It was a million-to-one shot. If only he remembered that million-to-one chances, usually occurred nine-out-of-ten.

Meanwhile, Matt and T.K. were busy checking out a cave that T.K. had found. The rain had been coming down into their eyes, and if it had not let up for a few seconds, they would have missed it all together. The entrance was not of large size, but just right for a few people to rush into at the same time, without anyone getting bumped or bruised. As the two brothers inspected the cave for any signs of any Digimon possibly living within, Matt came across a strange tunnel that wound back into the rock. As he looked into it, he noticed a faint light coming from what could only be the end of the tunnel. Intrigued, he stepped forward, intent on discovering where it led. His brother, seeing this, called for him, before he could get lost or hurt.

"Wait a minute Matt," he lectured as his brother turned around in surprise. "We need to get back to camp and let the others know about this cave right away. If we wait any longer, Mimi might get worse."

At this, Matt grew troubled, and decided that it would probably delay them for too long if they went in search of it now.

"Ok then, let's go," he decided. Shivering, the two boys headed out into the cold rain and hurried back towards the Cam fir tree as fast as they were able. They reached in a few minutes, and too their relief, Tai and Izzy were back as well.

"Did you find somewhere to go?" Tai asked as they arrived. Matt ignored him, and headed towards where Mimi lay.

"How is she?" he asked, kneeling down beside her.

"Not too good," Joe replied, a look of worry present on his face.

"Hell-o?" Tai asked Matt again. "Did you find a better place or not?! Answer me Matt!"

Matt turned around, his temper fueled by the stormy weather, and frustration of having someone sick who might not make it.

"You know, Tai, I wasn't the only one in the group! If you needed an answer right away, you could ask T.K. He was there too," he spat. "For your information, we did. There's a cave a few minutes away from here. It's hard to see, but T.K. and I know where it is. It's dry, large enough for all of us and more, and it's uninhabited."

"Fine. Let's get going," Tai said sighing. Matt turned around once again. Sora was also kneeling next to Mimi, a worried and pale look on her face. Matt knew… if something was to happen to her…

"Sora, take Mimi's bag and hat for me, ok? I'll carry her," he asked of her, and she nodded, taking up them both along with her own hat, that she had just taken off only a few minutes before Tai and Izzy had arrived. Matt picked her up once more, placing her in the same position she had been before, and gently laid her head on his chest. Standing up, he shuddered, noting that the temperature was dropping. Pulling Mimi close to his body for warmth, he set off, leading the way with T.K. for the others, who were following close behind. The going was tough, even worse than before, because now the rain was coming at them with incredible force. After ten minutes however, T.K. finally spotted the cave, and they all rushed inside, glad to be out on the rain. And not a moment to soon, for just as Matt stepped through the opening, large hailstones began to pelt down from the sky, most the size of a golf ball.

"That was close," he whispered, giving thanks that he had not been outside. He set Mimi down on some leaves that Kari had brought to lay her down on. Sora also placed her stuff on the ground next to her.

"How come Mimi gets the extra comfort?" Tai whined. Matt and Sora both turned towards him, giving him a fierce look.

"Because she's sick!" Matt said through gritted teeth.

"Good grief! Don't get all irritated at me, I just wondered," Tai said.

Matt turned back to Mimi, thoroughly appalled by Tai's behavior. Sora and Joe isolated themselves from the group in a corner and began discussing what might help or hinder Mimi's state. Tai however walked over to Izzy who was organizing the wood into piles with the help of T.K. and Kari.

"So, Izzy, what are we going to use to light this anyway?" he asked.

"I already told you, matches or a lighter," he replied.

"Izzy, do you actually have a lighter or matches?" Izzy stopped for a second, thinking of a good comeback.

"Uh…" he responded. "How about you go ask and see if anyone has one?"

"Grrr…" Tai retorted, but went around asking people like Izzy had asked.

"T.K.? Kari? Do either of you have matches or a lighter?" Tai asked. Izzy heard him though.

"Tai, you idiot! Think! Would T.K. or Kari carry matches or lighters in their pockets?!"

"Uh, I don't know… yes?" Izzy sweat dropped.

"NO TAI! THEY WOULDN'T!" he yelled, and Tai jumped in surprise.

"Whoa, calm down man! Chill, ok?" Tai advised.

"Tai, just go ask them, ok?!"

"Ok, ok already, I'm going! Sheesh!" he proclaimed as he went over to Joe and Sora, who where sitting in a corner, conversing about Mimi's condition.

"Do either of you have matches or a lighter? We need one to start a fire."

"No, I don't. Joe?" Sora replied.

"No, unfortunately I don't." Joe answered. Tai walked away. "This is bad. If we can't light the fire, Mimi won't be able to get warm. She'll catch hypothermia if we don't do something quick."

Tai, at this point, walked over to Matt.

"Matt, you got a lighter or matches? We need to light the fire."

"No…" he replied, and Tai turned to walk back to tell Izzy that there were none to be found. "Wait Tai, I know where some matches are!" Matt called, remembering where he had seen matches. Tai came back just as Matt reached for Mimi's bag, grabbing it and opening it up. Tai was totally shocked.

"Matt, what are you, psycho?!" Tai shouted, as he realized what he was doing. "When she wakes up, she'll kill you for going in there!"

"Tai, if I DON'T, she won't be able to wake up and kill me, SHE'LL BE **_DEAD_**!" Matt yelled. Everyone in the cave suddenly became as quiet as a mouse, for he alone had dared to say that she might die, and with each passing second, it became more apt to occur. Matt started to rummage through Mimi's bag again, the noise echoing across the large cavern, and he soon came across that he was searching. He pulled out the box of matches and tossed them to Tai. He caught them and, looking dumbfounded, carried them over to Izzy. Izzy stuck them in a pocket, and together, both boys brought over kindling near Mimi for the fire. T.K. and Kari had been busy crumpling up paper and old receipts they found in their pockets, and now had enough to start the fire. They carried the pile over to where Izzy and Tai were busy working, trying to figure out how to ignite the wood without wasting all the matches.

"Izzy? Will this help any?" T.K. asked. "Kari and I emptied our pockets of any paper we had. Will it help start the fire?" Izzy, who had looked worried only moments ago, turned to them both and smiled.

"Yes T.K., this is enough to start two fires. Thanks to you both."

"Nah, it was nothing," T.K. said. "Besides, it was only drawing paper and stuff, but I don't have any crayons."

"T.K., when we get home, I'll buy you _two_ boxes of crayons, ok? Kari, you too." Matt said, smiling.

"Me too!" Sora said. "And I'll make you my secret batch of homemade chocolate cookies!"

"Oh boy!" T.K. and Kari both cried. "Sora cookies!" Everyone laughed at how prominent Sora's cookies had become. All of a sudden, Mimi gave out a small cry. And then, as suddenly as lightning strikes, everyone became sullen and depressed.

"Well, let's light the fire." Tai said, trying to be cheerful, but failing miserably.

"Ok, let's get to work," Joe said.

"I thought you said you were allergic to work Joe," T.K. asked.

"That's only when it doesn't save a friend T.K." Joe answered, embarrassed.

"Oh…" T.K. said.

Five minutes later, the fire was lit, and Mimi was laid down next to it. Everyone was tired but Matt, and Sora was too worried to sleep, so both of them had the first watch. It was decided that around one in the morning, Tai and Joe would take up watch, and then Izzy and Matt would relieve them at four. Matt volunteered to stay up the whole night and take the watch by himself, but no one would hear of it for everyone felt that they owed it to Mimi for almost leaving her to die. It was about midnight when the rain finally stopped after caring on for a good couple hours, and the faint 'drip…drip…drip…' could be heard echoing throughout the cave. Sora had finally relaxed and decided to go to bed, but Matt remained by Mimi's side, unwilling to take a break, let alone call Tai and Joe for their watch. He didn't know why, but he felt as if he was responsible. Maybe he just felt that he couldn't trust anyone anymore after they had almost left her to die. Or maybe… just maybe….

'No. NO. NO. NO! NOT THAT WORD AGAIN! NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!' He refused to think it, to believe it without any proof, and there were none, no butterflies or feeling that you're on top of the world. He refused to listen to it, he'd resisted before, and he could do so again. But it kept persisting that he listen, and he thought for a minute he'd give up, that he'd give in to it. Hah, he wasn't weak; he'd never give in, never!

Looking around the room, he remembered the small tunnel. Curiosity got the better of him, and he stood up, planning to go investigate it. He walked over to the opening and looked inside. Yes, the light was still there. He stepped forward, deciding that nothing would stop him this time from discovering what was at the end of it.

Mimi stirred suddenly and gave out a small moan. Not thinking about the vow he had just made, he dashed back to her side. She shivered, even though she was right near the fire, and Matt began to worry. He leaned over her, removed the handkerchief, and felt her forehead. It was still burning hot. He took out the water bottle from her bag, dampened the handkerchief with cooler water, and placed it back on her forehead.

'Ok, think, what did mom used to do when T.K. or I got sick with the fever? Well, first we took medicine that tasted horrible. She also made sure we had lots of fluids to drink. Ok, water I can do.'

Matt sat down against a stalagmite that was next to her and he picked her up and moved her into his lap, holding her head up with his left arm. Then taking the water bottle, he slowly pressed it up to her lips, making sure that a sudden movement would not result in an unexpected shower for the both of them. Matt smiled as she slowly drank the water until it was empty. He set the water bottle down next to him and carefully laid her back next to the fire.

'Ok, what else did she do? She let us watch TV in bed all day…. Sorry Mimi, no TV here, let alone anywhere to plug it in. Well, she also let us eat bread and other foods that wouldn't make us sicker. Sorry, I don't have anything like that. She told us stories too. Nope, that's not happening. Even so, I don't think I could do that without waking anyone else up. Oh… and she made sure we were always warm. Ok, that I can check.'

Matt bent over Mimi again, and felt her hand. It wasn't very warm at all, and little goose bumps covered both of her arms.

'Great, the fire's not helping. She needs a blanket or something.' Matt thought as he looked around the room for ideas. Nothing. Not even more leaves. 'Great. Now what?' He debated about going into the forest to find more leaves, but thought against it.

'She could get worse, and no one would know. Also, there's probably none in a fifty mile radius that are dry anyway.'

He scanned the cavern once again, looking for anything that could be used. Nothing.

'If only Gabumon was here, he'd know what to do.'

Matt remembered every thing his friend had done for him, from protecting him from evil Digimon like Devimon and Myotismon, to even giving up his own fur to keep him from dying from hypothermia….

'Wait! That's it!' he thought suddenly. He knew he'd be cold, but if it stopped her from dying, it was worth being cold or even sick. He quickly took off his shirt, and draped it over her arms. He shivered at the quick change of atmosphere.

'Boy, it sure is cold,' he thought.

Matt moved over next to the fire near her head, and huddled close to the fire. He looked at her face once again after about a half an hour and he noticed that Mimi wasn't frowning. In fact, a small amount of color had crept back into her once death pale skin and it appeared that she was already returning to health. Matt sighed with relief.

'She'll be ok now,' he thought, slowly laying down next to the fire for warmth. Then changing his mind, he moved next to Mimi to make sure that she stayed warm. He took her hand in his. That way, if she got cold, he would feel it and wake up. 'She'll be ok.' He told himself, and with that, he slowly passed on into the world of dreams.

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Ok, now it's time for you to click the little button down here that says "Submit Review" and sent me your comments/reviews (not flames)! Thankies again!

M&M Forever


	3. Out of the frying pan and into the fire

Disclaimer- I own nothing but the idea of this fanfiction... which in essence has probably been done before somewhere, so it's probably not even completely mine... but oh well.

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The Next Morning…

"Hey T.K.,"

"Morning Kari."

"Sleep well?"

"Yeah. I guess."

"You guess?"

"Yeah, I was kind of worried about Mimi."

"Mind if I tell you something?"

"No… tell me."

"Look over at Mimi and my brother…."

"Awww… how cute! And Mimi's even wearing his shirt… I wish I had my camera with me, that's just too sweet!"

"You know what Kari? I think Matt likes her."

Matt shot up, carefully moving Mimi's now warm hand from his chest where he had probably moved it in his sleep, and glared at the two youngsters who were sitting nearby and whispering. However, the echo of the cave made it possible for anyone to hear what they had been saying. And that's exactly what Matt had been doing for the past few minutes, listening to see if he could catch T.K. and Kari talking about how much they liked each other. But instead, they had apparently sprung the trap back on him, and accusing him of feelings he didn't have and vowed not to ever have.

"Uh… morning Matt," T.K. whimpered, noticing the glare he was receiving from him.

"T.K. you're asking for it every time you open that mouth of yours," Matt warned his little brother.

"But…" Kari interjected.

"Know this before you ever start accusing me again you two," Matt growled. "I don't like Mimi, and I never will, got it?!"

"Yes Matt," they muttered gloomily.

"Good. Now that we've got that misunderstanding out of our way, I'm going to take a walk. Alone."

With that, he got up and walked out of the cave, his face now solemn and deep in thought.

"Well, there goes that pairing down the drain…." T.K. murmured, sending an evil glare out of the cave at his brother's retreating figure like it was his fault that he didn't like her. "All that planning for nothing."

"I don't think it was for nothing," Kari said, voicing her opinion.

"Why not? You heard him; he said he didn't like her, and that he never would."

"I don't think he was saying what he really…." She began, but a sudden movement silenced her. Mimi had sat up, her left hand holding her head in pain. All of a sudden she realized her surroundings had changed, and looked around the cave in astonishment.

'W-where am I?' She asked herself in confusion. A dark green object on her lap caught her attention, and she picked it up, suddenly realizing what it was. 'What is Matt's shirt doing on me?

"Mimi, are you ok?" Kari asked her, rushing to her friend's side. "What happened?"

"I- I don't know, where am I? What time is it?" She asked T.K. as he sat down beside her. Then with a strange look, she added, "And why do I have Matt's shirt?"

"We found a cave for shelter from the rain last night. I'd say it's about 8 in the morning right now," Kari explained while T.K. fought down an evil laugh. "As for the last one? You'll have to ask him that."

"Where is he?" she inquired, glancing around, unable to find him.

"He went for a walk," T.K. clarified for her. "I'll go find him and let him know you woke up, ok?"

"Don't do anything else T.K.!" Kari warned him as he strode out of the cave in search of his brother.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, well you see…" Kari paused for a moment, debating whether it was wise to divulge their secret planning.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Mimi promised, noting the unsure ness in her voice.

"Well, T.K. and I have been trying to pair up some of the Digidestined. Of course, there's us, but as Tai and Matt will freak out if they found out, we're not telling anyone how we feel about each other. Anyways, we are going to try and pair up a few people."

"Like?"

"Tai and Sora for one. I mean, look at how much potential they have, considering they both have common interests, that, and the little helping fact they seem to have something going on between them. And then we were trying to find someone for you and…."

"Kari?" Mimi asked innocently. "You weren't seriously trying to hook me up with Matt, were you?"

"Uh…."

"Were you?"

"Well, you see… we thought about hooking you up with Izzy, but he's just into computers too much to seriously have any interests in you, so a dead end there. And then we thought about you and Joe, but as much as we thought it might work, we didn't think that the motto for you would be all that great. I mean 'Reliable Sincerity'? No way. If you ask me, Sincere Friend-" she stopped, shocked at her own foolishness.

"What was that Kari? Was that a Sincere Friendship coming out by any chance?" Mimi asked slyly.

"Uh… maybe?"

"So you think Matt and I make a good couple?"

"Yeah, especially after last night!" She blurted out.

"What do you mean, 'especially after last night'? What happened?"

"Matt found you. Down by the lake from what I could understand," Kari explained. "He was the first one to notice you were gone, and he stopped Tai from leaving without you and Sora. Sorry, but I was asleep, so I didn't know what was going on. But anyways, Matt went off and found you, and I guess he went all 'Doctor Mom' on you, because when he came back carrying you, you had a bandage on your head and everything. Well, the 'bandage' was actually one of you handkerchiefs, but also when I woke up, he was holding your hand and it was pressed up against his chest. I wish I had a camera, you two looked so cute! And then-"

"Wait." Mimi interrupted. "Did you say one of my handkerchiefs?!"

"Yes. Why?"

"I had them in my bag! He must have gone through my bag! What if he read my diary?! What if he saw what I'd written about him?! What if he doesn't like me?! What if he thinks I'm a spoiled brat?! What if he can't stand me?! What if-" Mimi stopped, realizing what she was saying.

Kari smiled. "So you do have feelings for him?"

"N-no."

"Right. And I don't love T.K." Kari said sarcastically, just as T.K. ran into the cave.

"Kari, shhh, Matt's coming!" T.K. whispered quickly. "Remember, I don't love you, you don't love me, right?"

"I know."

"HAH! I knew it!" Matt accused, walking into the cave. Mimi blushed, seeing him without his shirt, but realizing what the discussion was about right before he walked in, she turned a pale off-white.

'Oh no…what if he overheard Kari and me talking? How do I explain this without getting anyone in trouble?' She asked herself, fearing the worst.

"Uh oh…." T.K. and Kari both muttered simultaneously.

"We're in for it now." T.K. admitted.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire." Kari agreed.

"So…." Matt started, but T.K. cut him off.

"Matt, I can explain this. It's, uh, not like it seems, ok?"

"Yes it is."

"Matt, you're not letting me explain this!"

"There's nothing left to explain. You are in love with Kari, aren't you?"

"Uh…."

"T.K.?"

"…."

"Right?"

"…yes."

"HAH! I KNEW IT!"

"Jeez, will you keep it down?!" T.K. hissed. "You'll wake everyone else up!"

"Matt, please don't tell my brother." Kari begged him.

"I'll think about it," he said dryly, though he sounded like he would more likely swallow a cactus whole with the prickles still on it.

"Please Matt, don't tell him, he won't understand," T.K. pleaded.

"Matt, please don't. They both want to keep it a secret because they thought no one would understand, and they were right." Mimi accused.

"But…."

"You were going to tell Tai, weren't you?" Mimi proclaimed.

"Well, I…."

"_Weren't you_?" Matt gulped.

"…Maybe… but I'm not going to now."

"Why the sudden change of mind Matt? What, you only do what Mimi tells you to?" T.K. teased. "Or is this a sudden change of… heart?"

"T.K., how many times do I have to tell you?! I don't have any feelings for her! NONE!"

Mimi's eyes brimmed with tears and her lower lip began to tremble slightly. He didn't like her. Not even a little. She lowered her head to spare her the pain at looking at him and knowing the horrible truth. She had done it again; she had fallen once more for someone who felt nothing for her. She had only had a few crushes in her life, but they had never turned into the fantasies she had yearned for. At most, they had gone on a date or two before she discovered that they really didn't want her, they wanted one of her friends. What she really wanted was a good-looking guy with a good heart, one that would be willing to give anything for her, would never leave her when she needed him most, and had a sense of humor. But it appeared that such a guy didn't exist.

Then she met Matt. Dreams that had included a mysterious figure that had been everything for her, were now replaced with a face that had golden blond hair and deep blue eyes that held mystery and wonder; eyes that you could look into only once and yet spend eternity within, never wanting to leave for fear of discovering that you were alone. Her mind warned her of the chances of being rejected again, but her heart didn't care to listen, it was far too busy taking in every look of him that she could safely get without anyone noticing. But she should have listened, for now, her heart was shattered into so many pieces; she was sure that this time it would be beyond repair….

"Mimi, are you ok?" Kari asked her.

"Yeah… my head just hurts," she lied, raising her eyes to look at her, and carefully avoid Matt's gaze. Kari shook her head slightly, just letting her know that they would talk later.

"Mimi?" Matt's melodious voice floated over her consciousness, sending a shiver up her spine as she turned to face him, totally in his control.

"Hmm?" she asked, unable to hide from his deep blue eyes, her soft brown eyes being lost in his once more, this time with longing for his love.

"…Can I have my shirt back?" he asked, blushing slightly under his eyes, embarrassed.

Kari gave T.K. a gentle nudge in the side, pointing out her suspicions once more. T.K. nodded in agreement.

Mimi slowly broke eye contact with him and glanced down at the green tank top that lay on her lap. To tell the truth, she wanted to keep it, to treasure, so that even if Matt didn't love her, she could have something of his to remember him by. But the more she thought of it, the more absurd the idea sounded. What the others would think was only part of the problem. What would be Matt's reaction to her saying 'No, I want to keep it…'? There was only one thing she could do: give it back.

She sighed inwardly and handed it back to him, watching as he pulled it over his head to warm his once bare chest.

"Thanks, I was starting to get cold…." He turned to go outside once more.

"Matt?" Mimi called out. He turned his head to let her know that he was listening. "Why did you give me your shirt in the first place?"

Of all the questions in the world, that was one of the last that he wanted to answer.

"Well, I… you were cold, and I … I knew that you had to stay warm … or you wouldn't have… made it…." He answered, half answering himself. Why HAD he given her his shirt? It couldn't have anything to do with those words… could it?

'NO.' he told himself firmly. Although… was it really all a coincidence? The unexpected 'hug', the way she looked at him, staring at him yet past him some how, as if she had included him in a daydream of some sort, and … the way her 'head' hurt exactly after he denied having any feelings for her whatsoever…. Where they really all connected, as some master plan of some unseen force that could only be felt? Or was it those words again, toying with his emotions? Either way, it bugged him that he was weak enough to let them annoy him. He shifted his eyes to her once more. Again, he found her staring into his eyes, her chestnut eyes glazed over, as if in another world.

"Mimi?" he asked her.

"…Huh? …Yes?" she replied, snapping back quickly to reality.

"I…uh…just… get better, ok?"

"Oh… Ok."

The silence between them endured for about a minute before Matt strode back out into the rising sun.

* * *

'Yes, come. Come and bring the girl with you…. Come if you dare…. You have no idea what you are about to do, bringing her within my grasp…. You have no clue about what will happen when I have her, and we will see how strong they really are when she is taken from them and killed as a sacrifice to me, letting my true form become released upon the entire universe…. 

Especially….

* * *

A/N- Dun Dun Dun... R&R please, or I'll lose my motivation to keep at this! 


	4. Adventure plans gone askew

A/N: Ok, so still don't own anything but the plotline... which, considering it's a fanfiction, isn't too much to pride myself on... so yeah... sue and you'll get basically nothing of value...

* * *

'Yes, come. Come and bring the girl with you…. Come if you dare…. You have no idea what you are about to do, bringing her within my grasp…. You have no clue about what will happen when I have her, and we will see how strong they really are when she is taken from them and killed as a sacrifice to me, letting my true form become released upon the entire universe…. 

Especially….

* * *

Later that morning…. 

"Hey, who wants go check out the crack in the cave wall with me?" Matt asked, getting up from his seat next to T.K. as they finished up their breakfast of fruits and berries they found on the plants near the entrance to the cave. They had picked enough for the others but had left them near the fire for them to eat when they woke up. Sora had been up for a while, but had fallen back asleep.

"Sure, I'll go!" T.K. announced.

"Well, you're not going anywhere without me!" Kari said.

"Or me!" Mimi added, wanting to be near the three of them, because they were good company. Sora had talked with her outside so that way they could have some privacy, but now that she was sure that Mimi was ok; her mind had turned back to Tai. Kari was right, there was potential for those two, and now that she thought about it, it made her feel even more left out than she had ever felt before. Izzy and Joe were the best of friends, Tai and Sora were as good as a couple, T.K. and Kari were together, and Matt…. Well, Matt was cold hearted; he couldn't be able to feel anything towards her, and he had proved it this morning.

But she still couldn't help liking the blond rebel, and when she daydreamed, it was always of herself as a princess, taken prisoner by an evil Digimon, and Matt as her shinning knight in armor, who came and rescued her. And when it was all over, the bad guys vanquished, the princess rescued, she would reward him with a long, passionate kiss. But after all, it was only a daydream, and like all daydreams, they must come to an end.

"Are you sure you're well enough?" Matt asked, concerned. Why was he so worried about her? Could it be that he had been lying earlier without even knowing it?

"Yeah, I'm fine, just bring on the adventure!"

"Are you sure? Mimi, usually you're the one who doesn't want to have any adventures." Matt pointed out to her.

'Yeah, but that's the last person I want to hear that from,' she thought.

"Hey, as long as you and T.K. are around, I think I'll be fine," Mimi declared instead. "Besides, if Kari is willing to take the risk of you boys being our knights in armor for us, I'll go any day."

"Ok then, let's go," Matt said, turning around quickly, to hide his slight blush. The two words returned again, this time appealing to his logic and emotions instead of to his mind like before

'Listen to us Matt, you know you want to… you do want to, we can tell. You wouldn't be blushing if you didn't. You like the idea, but you're afraid to feel it. You've been afraid since you were six, and you've vowed to shut us out forever, just like you did with your parents, but now, every time you send us away, we will come back ten fold. We will win Matt, we WILL win!'

'GO AWAY!' Matt screamed mentally. 'GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE! I WON'T LISTEN TO YOU AGAIN, EVER! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!'

'We will be back, you can count on it… and we will break you…. You can't ignore us forever….'

"Just watch me," he said out loud.

"What?" T.K. asked.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself. Let's go."

The four of them made their way to the crack in the wall was, and Matt stuck in his head. But the opening was gone.

"What the…?" T.K. asked, as he walked inside, discovering that it only went back a few feet and then came to a flat wall.

"…."

"Where is it?" T.K. asked his big brother.

"I don't know, it just disappeared," he answered thoughtfully.

"Guess we can't have our adventure now," Mimi said sadly.

"Not true. Do you want to go for a walk?" Matt asked her, fighting down the blush that threatened to show itself.

"Sure, as long as you promise that I won't get kidnapped by an evil Digimon or something," she said, thinking of how her daydreams might change afterwards.

"I promise," Matt assured her.

"Ok, good, because we're not going," Kari announced.

"What?" The three of them asked in confusion.

"T.K. and I are staying here." She confirmed.

"We are?" T.K. asked. "Oh wait, yeah, you said you needed to talk to me for a bit, didn't you?" he said, catching on.

"But… what about our walk?" Mimi asked upset. Kari gave her a quick wink, and she suddenly got it. This was all part of their plan to get them together, wasn't it? A very small grin appeared on her face for a few seconds before she abandoned it for fear of letting anyone see it other than Kari.

"That's ok, we can wait until they're done, then take our walk," Matt suggested. T.K. suddenly looked like he would strangle his brother in his anger.

"You two will do nothing of the sort! Kari and I would like some privacy, so out out out! Just be back by two. Don't worry, we'll cover for you if Tai wakes up," T.K. said pushing his brother and Mimi out of the cave and then storming back inside, leaving both of them in shock.

"Boy, I guess they _did_ want their privacy," Matt said, shaking his head.

"Come on, let's leave them alone." Mimi said, taking off down the small path barely visible through the overgrowth of grass and small shrubs that littered the small clearing, Matt following close behind.

Back inside the cave….

"T.K., you realize that if we're caught, we'll get in big trouble." Kari warned.

"Yeah, well, do you have any other ideas?"

"Yeah, we just ask Mimi when she gets back."

"Come on, where's the fun in that?" T.K. whined.

"Would you prefer your brother telling mine our little secret?"

"No…."

"Then we wait."

"Awww, come on…. Please? Pretty please?"

Back outside….

"So… where do you want to go?" Mimi asked Matt as he caught up with her. The two of them had come to a fork in the road; now Mimi wondered which road to take.

"Well, there's nothing down the left road but trees and stuff, but if you want, I can show you a secret area I found this morning down farther if we take the right one. I think you'd like it, but it's up to you," he informed her. "You'd have to be ready to do some serious walking if we want to get back before noon, because it is a ways off."

"What's in the secret area?" Mimi asked him curiously.

"That's why it's secret, no one knows about it but me," he answered her, smiling.

"Well then, I guess you'll just have to show me."

"Ok then, the secret area it is. Did you bring your bathing suit?"

"Yes, why?" she asked, surprised. Then suddenly, she paled. "How did you know I had a bathing suit?"

"Well, I…." Matt was silent for a minute. "I kinda went through your bag looking for something to help stop your head from bleeding and I saw it in there. Also I had to go in there to get the matches to light the fire. Don't get upset, I had to…. You… you wouldn't have made it through the night if I hadn't."

"…."

"If you're wondering, I DID see the diary, but I didn't even open it," Matt added, thinking it might help.

"You… you didn't read it?"

"I thought about it, but I didn't. I didn't want to betray your trust I guess."

"Oh…." Mimi answered, half in her own thoughts. They both stood in silence for a few minutes, neither of them knowing what to say.

"Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"Why does everyone hate me so much?"

Of all the things he was expecting to hear, that sure wasn't one of them.

"What?!"

"Why does everyone in the world hate me?! What did I do wrong?! Is it because I'm not pretty enough?!" she cried out, tears threatening to fall.

"Mimi, everyone in the world doesn't hate you, and you know it."

"Then how come everyone was just going to leave me Matt, how could they forget about me if I wasn't hated?!" Tears raining softly on the already damp ground, creating a small puddle about her feet.

"Mimi, everyone was worried about their Digimon, and they were half asleep. Besides, it wasn't just you that they were leaving, it was Sora too. And we both know that Tai would never leave Sora anywhere on purpose."

"So? Then how come everyone usually ignores me? Is it because I'm so ugly, no one can stand me?!"

"You're not ugly at all, and you know that."

"That's not what I was told! I was told as a child that I was so ugly, every time people talked to me, it was out of pity! So I guess that I am ugly!"

"Who said that?!"

"Everyone, my family, my so called friends, people at my school, even people I met out on the streets. Once this 20 year old came up to me in the subway with my 'friend' Kiki and told me that I should take off my ugly mask, because Halloween had been three months ago. Then he said, sorry, he didn't know that that was my real face. AND THEN BOTH OF THEM LAUGHED!" She cried.

Matt just stood there, not knowing what to say. What do you say to someone to make them stop believing that they're ugly without making them get the wrong impression? He decided that actions speak louder than words, so he gave her a hug, trying to make her stop crying. But it just seemed to make her cry even harder. Well, now there was only one thing left to do….

"Mimi, you're not ugly at all. Compared to most people, you're very beautiful."

"Compared to the _very_ ugly people!" She cried, her voice muffled by his shirt that she was crying into.

"You're the most beautiful person I've ever known, so how can you say that?!"

"…You… you don't… think I'm… ugly?" she asked, raising her moist eyes to face his naturally watery blue ones.

"No."

"Not even a little?"

"Not even a little."

Mimi pulled away from him and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I…I'm sorry, I've been holding that in for so long… I'm sorry you had to see this…."

"Don't feel bad about it. The next time you need to talk to anyone about something that is bothering you, just let me know, and I'll listen. Besides, what are friends for?" Matt told her.

'Is that all I am to you? A friend?' she asked him silently, although she nodded to show that she had heard him.

"Well, if you still have any doubts about you being pretty, I'll take you to the place I discovered earlier. I took one look at the place and I could just see you in it, mostly because of…well, I won't ruin it for you. You'll just have to wait and see, now won't you?" he teased her.

"You're mean," she pouted.

"Come on, or we won't be able to stay there for very long," he said, and they walked off down the right path that led off along the hills, oblivious to the two pairs of eyes that lay hidden in the undergrowth along it.

They had been walking for about an hour when Mimi stopped suddenly. Matt seeing her stop, came up to her.

"What's wrong?"

"Can't you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"Eyes. Someone or something is watching us…."

Matt spun around, looking for something that looked suspicious and/or out of the ordinary, but nothing struck him as out of place. But he could feel it, the ever-watching presence that followed their every movement. But what made it even stranger was that he had only felt it when he'd moved closer to Mimi. That alone unnerved him. He took a step away from her towards the line of trees to his right; at he felt the strange feeling leave him. He heard Mimi breathe a sigh of relief.

"I can't feel them any more; I think they left."

"All the same, I think that we should get off the road. Someone or something is watching it."

The two of them quickly got off the road on the left, and not a moment too soon, for out of the forest on the opposite side came a shrill cry that sent shivers up their spines and seemed to freeze their blood. It was answered by another, farther in the distance, and then there was absolute silence. Matt tapped Mimi on the shoulder, and they both agreed silently on one word: **_RUN!_** And run they did, for almost ten minutes straight until Mimi tripped, knocking the wind out of her. Matt pulled her up and they made their way to a small thicket that enclosed them like a dome over their heads, but was large enough for both of them to move around in.

"What was that?!" Mimi panted, trying to catch her breath. "A bird?"

"That was no bird," Matt answered in a quavering voice.

"I agree."

"Well, we'll be safe as soon as we reach the secret area, so let's keep going. When we stopped, we weren't all that far away from it. In fact, I think that we should be around the entrance."

They carefully crawled out and looked around. The road was no where to be found, and somehow they had ended up right near the face a cliff. There was a large sheet of Ivy hanging along the side of it, and that's what Matt headed towards.

"I was right, we were nearby. Come on, we'll be safe in hear."

'Unless whatever it is can fly or jump over cliffs, that is…' he added to himself. He pulled the Ivy back to reveal a hidden passage that had been hewn out of the rock. Mimi could hear water from inside echoing against the walls, and she could smell the mist coming out with the gentle breeze of cool air into the warm sun. Mystified, she stepped into the tunnel, full of curiosity and wonder. Matt let the Ivy fall back over the entrance, and the cave went dark. Mimi froze. She had never liked the dark, and after her recent scare, she could just picture a creepy, slimy hand being put over her mouth and her being dragged off, never to be seen again. Something touched her arm, and she let out a shriek.

"Whoa, calm down, it's just me!" Matt said, grabbing her arm before she could run off into the cavern. "There's a diverging path up ahead, and if you take the wrong one, you'll fall into a titanic sized hole in the path that goes down for near forever! Trust me; I won't let anything happen to you, just calm down."

Mimi reluctantly let herself calm down, but did not relax her guard even a hair. She still did not trust the dark, and she would not unless she knew for a fact that Matt would do anything to protect her from whatever might be in there with them. Until then, she would not relax even for a second. And knowing that he had said so himself, that he would never feel anything but friendship towards her, she'd feel like that forever.

"Ok, follow me."

"But Matt…."

"What?"

"I can't see."

"Do you have your eyes shut?"

"…. Yes…. And I'm not opening them either."

"Fine then. We can just stand here until whatever it was that screamed finds us then."

"No way."

"Then let's go."

"But… I'm scared…."

"If you want I can hold onto your arm, just so you know you're not alone."

"Ok… thanks Matt."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, if something happened to you…."

'Guess who's back?!' the haunting voice echoed through Matt's mind, making him cut off in mid-sentence. 'Come on, say it! Give into us, we are a force to be reckoned with, and you know it!'

"What? What would happen?"

"Uh… If something happened to you, Sora and everyone would kill me." Matt said quickly.

"Oh…."

'You're lying!' the voice continued to taunt in a sing-songy voice. 'Oooohhhhhh, it's just like with the song you wrote the other day for no apparent reason. Everything has a reason Yamato, and you know it.'

'Get out of my head and go find someone who cares. AND DON'T CALL ME YAMATO!'

'Why not? You like hearing it though.'

'Not from you.' He spat.

'Oh I see, you'd rather hear it fro- '

'GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE!'

"Matt?" Mimi asked. "Is something wrong."

"Huh? Oh, I just thought I heard something, but it was just the wind," he lied.

'Yeah, now make like the wind and blow away,' he growled mentally.

'Fine, we will leave… for now….'

"Are you ready to go?" he asked Mimi as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Been ready."

"Ok then, follow me."

* * *

Read and review? Pwease? need a total of 22 reviews before I continue. So please review! ... unless you're only going to tell me that my coupling suck... in which case, be off I say! 


	5. I swim pretty girl

Disclaimer: I own very few things, and Digimon is one of those many things I don't. Ok, now go read.

* * *

"Are you ready to go?" he asked Mimi as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Been ready."

"Ok then, follow me."

Matt reached down and held her hand. It was warm and soft, and he could have sworn that Mimi had shivered slightly at his touch. He knew his hands weren't exactly warm, but they weren't that cold, were they? Or was he just imagining the whole thing?

They walked like that for almost ten minutes when they came to an overpass where the tunnel diverged, one leading to the right, the other to the left. Matt led Mimi down the right one, being careful to make sure that she didn't trip on the gradual slope downwards. Soon the light in the tunnel grew bright enough to see, and Matt noted that her eyes were completely shut, clamped tightly, refusing to open. She was really putting a lot of faith into him, making him feel a little uneasy.

"You know, you can open your eyes now," he informed her. "You'll be able to see just fine, don't worry."

Slowly, Mimi opened her eyes, noting that he had been right, and as they turned a bend, she could see light streaming out of the end of it, illuminating their figures. She glanced around, thinking that perhaps something might be following them out of the shadows, yearning to grab one of them and take them into the bowels of the sea of endless darkness. But nothing was there except their shadows, stretched out of proportion.

The light evened out as they stepped out of the cave, and Mimi gasped in wonder and awe: for in front of her was laid out the most beautiful area she had ever seen in her entire life. There were trees surrounding the steep stone ridges going up about 30 feet on all sides of the valley, mostly sweet smelling pines and a few Douglass firs. On the farther side, there was a semi large brook, babbling along until it emptied out into a deep pool of water to their right, the end of which lied underneath the rocks, making one believe that it ran into a separate part of the cave that they had just exited. To their left was a beautiful meadow of wildflowers, yellow, blue, orange, pink, and green in disarray of colors that were attractive and pleasing to the mind. She turned to her companion, in surprise and confusion.

"Is this really it?" she asked in disbelief, and he nodded, watching her reaction. "It's so calm here, so very beautiful… there's no way."

"Huh? There's no way, what?"

"That anyone could compare to anything like this," she proclaimed.

"Yes there can."

"Well, then it's not me. You were just saying that earlier to make me feel better weren't you?"

"No… and yes…. No because it's true that you are as pretty, and yes, because I knew it would make you feel better knowing that other people think your pretty. And I know T.K. does, and Sora, Kari, Izzy, Joe, and I know that even though he can act like a total jerk, so does Tai…. So you see? You are pretty."

"But what about you?"

"Mimi… I…." He stuttered, not knowing how to answer the question. "You're very pretty. You're the prettiest person I have ever known," he said, trying his hardest not to blush.

'And probably will know?" Is that what you were thinking? Boy, and I thought you might actually be forcing me upon yourself on accident earlier…. I guess you really did mean it, didn't you?' The voice came back from its temporary absence.

'NOT NOW! CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY?!'

'Not until you admit your feelings….'

'GO. AWAY.'

'Fine, but every time you even think about her, I'll be back… 10 fold. Remember that: 10 fold….'

'Wait a second, who's her?!'

'Stop acting like a blonde and open up your eyes for once. Take down the stupid walls and realize reality for a second, will ya?! God, someone could propose marriage to you and you wouldn't even have a clue! Oh yeah, I forgot, you are a blonde….'

'…What do you mean?'

'Think about it….' And the voice disappeared, leaving him a state of total confusion.

"You really think so?"

"…yes…." He answered, yet it seemed as though something else inside him was answering for him. Did he really think she was beautiful, or was he just saying that to please her? "Well, you up for a swim?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Well, I am, but what about you? What are you going to do? Do you have a bating suit with you or something?" She asked him, oblivious to the obvious.

"Uh…. No, I was going to just swim in my boxers…." He answered slowly, feeling himself turn red.

"Oh…." Mimi quickly turned a light scarlet with embarrassment.

"But if you don't want me to, I'll be fine."

"Oh, no, I want you to!" Mimi added a little too quickly. "I mean, I don't want to make you sit out and not have any fun. You're the one who showed me this in the first place. Do you like to swim?"

"Yeah, I swim pretty girl… I mean pretty good," he said, messing up what he wanted to say. 'Oh boy, this is bad… I'm in trouble!'

"Good, then let's go then!" She said, not catching his little slip up. She ran into the little area of trees, and came back changed into her bathing suit, the pink towel wrapped around her slender figure. "Your turn!"

Matt headed over to the trees and quickly took off his socks and shoes, and as he went to take off his shirt, it dawned on him what he was doing. He was really going to go swimming with one of his best friends almost completely naked. He shuddered at the thought, but remembered what he had promised only minutes before.

'The things I do for people these days….'

He quickly finished changing and went out to meet Mimi, trying to hide his embarrassment as best he could. She was already in the water, and he almost ran to get into the water to hide.

'At least I won't feel so awkward in here,' he told himself. He decided to have some fun, and diving under the water, he headed to where Mimi was treading water. The water was so clear that he could open his eyes underneath the water and be able to see without being stung by the particles getting into his eyes. Also, it gave him a good view of anything in his way, including his target. He waited until the right time, and grabbed her leg. Feeling her sudden movement told him that he had accomplished what he had intended, and resurfaced to take in some air. No sooner had he broken surface when the next second, he was back under, being pinned down by a furious Mimi. Knowing that he needed air, he let a small bubble float to the surface to tell his captor know that she needed to let him up for a second. Getting the message, she let him go, and he made his way back upwards to the surface. He came up laughing, even though he was almost gasping for air.

"That's not funny, you almost gave me a heart attack!" She yelled, fuming at him. Matt just kept laughing, now almost choking on the air he attempted to get into his lungs. After a while though, he finally found that the subject had lost its hilariousness, and now apologized. Both of them treaded water for a while, each not knowing what to say to the other.

"So… what do you want to do now?" Matt asked, attempting to get her to say something.

"I don't know, what do you want to do?"

"Well, it's probably almost noon right now, so do you want to pick flowers or something before we have to head back?"

"Do we really have to go back?"

"Why not? What would everyone say if we didn't?"

"I could really care less what they thought. No one knows where we are, right?"

"What are you saying? That you'd rather stay here for the rest of your life?"

"Over being attacked and/or killed by whatever made that scream? Yes."

"Wouldn't you get lonely staying here by yourself?"

"You mean that if I stayed, you'd still leave? You'd leave me alone to possibly get killed?"

"I have to protect T.K., no matter what. If you wouldn't leave no matter what, I'd have to leave."

"So basically what you're saying is that if you could only save one person, you'd choose T.K. over anyone? Even if he was old enough to take care of himself, and even if that meant that you'd kill one or more of your friends?! I always knew you were cold, but I thought that friends meant more to you than that!"

"But…."

"Just shut up Matt, you're no different from them! I HATE YOU!"

Mimi dove under and headed to the other side of the stream where she got out and ran into the field of wildflowers, flinging herself into them, and crying into her arms. Matt watched as he silently treaded water, going over what had just been said. What had he said? What had he done? Had he really come off as that self-centered, or was that her just being ultra-sensitive? Maybe it was a mix of the two? But the one question that really took up his mind was 'Would I really leave her alone by herself without Palmon or anyone else to guard her?'

As he dwelt on the thought, another question floated back up from his memory, an older one he'd been wondering about for a few hours now. But after how she had just told him how much she hated him, the question was finally answered, and the power of the words had been broken. But not without a price. He had hurt his friend, and she wouldn't have anything to do with him ever again, he was sure of it. He had known that those two words had only been playing with his emotions, and that he was correct in believing that she had felt the same towards him, absolutely nothing. But now that it came right down to it, was he absolutely positive he felt only friendship towards her? Could those words have been right all along?

'You mean you really doubted us?' They asked, coming back to torture his already confused mind. 'How could you, we're a part of who you are!'

'No you're not! I shut you out when I was six, and I can do it again!'

'Tisk, tisk, of all the people you could have chosen to hurt; it had to be her, didn't it?'

'You're lucky you're not real, because I could hurt you right now!'

'Oh, we're real enough, you can bet on it. The only thing that makes you mad is the fact that you can't do anything to stop us.'

'Oh yes I can!'

'Like to see you try!'

'Watch me. I will, but first, I have something more important to do.'

'Like what?'

* * *

A/N: Okies, this is how the cookie is going to crumble: No more updates until I get at least 6 reviews on this story, I'm not going to keep busting my rear to churn out fanfics if no one's gonna read them.

Got it? 'Kay.


	6. Shortcuts Make Long Delays

D on't sue me,  
I don't own Digimon.  
S o you won't get a thing  
C ause I'm broke as hell,  
L ike I was when I began.  
A nd if you take this disclaimer  
I will hunt you down and flame you.  
M ine! My poem disclaimer!  
E njoy this next part of the fic, and  
R EAD AND REVIEW PLEASE!

M & M Forever

* * *

'… The only thing that makes you mad is the fact that you can't do anything to stop us.'

'Oh yes I can!'

'Like to see you try!'

'Watch me.' Matt vowed. 'I will, but first, I have something more important to do.'

'Like what?'

Making up his mind, he swam over to where Mimi had gotten out only minutes before, and clambered out of the water, ignoring the fact that if he wasn't so preoccupied, he would have been turning beet red with embarrassment over the fact that his boxers were clinging to him like a statically charge balloon does to hair.

Walking slowly into the field, Matt found her lying on a bed of multi-colored flowers, sobbing into her arms. He paused for a minute, unsure of how to go about making her listen to him explain his previous statement.

"Mimi…I…" he started.

"Just go away…." she cried softly.

"…."

"Please, just leave me alone…" she begged. Instead of listening to her pleas, however, he sat down beside her, hoping that she'd see that he wanted to talk and she'd change her mind. But as she still didn't speak to him, he began to worry that she might not listen to him at all ever again. And he was sure, that if it came time for them to leave, she really would stay, if he stayed to protect her or not. He sighed, turning his gaze to the other side of the river, letting his eyes wander along the jagged rocks that jutted out of the mountain. He took a deep breath and started talking, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she might be inclined to listen to what he had to say.

"Mimi, I just wanted you to know, that if it came down between you and T.K., it would be me who was killed, not you or T.K. If someone gave me the choice to choose between you two, I…."

'Say it! Come on, say it! Say it and give in already!' the words called, interrupting his little speech.

'NO. Never!' he replied and tried to shove them from his mind.

'You are so stubborn, you know you should, that you want to listen, yet you resist us!'

'That's what gets me ahead in life, not listening to you.'

'But are you sure you're ahead? Do you feel that empty spot, the missing void? That's what you're missing. Now do you really want to live the rest of your miserable life feeling that?'

'Over having you to deal with? Over hurting other people because of you? Over being hurt by other people because of you? Yes.'

'You can blame us all you want, but to tell you the truth, it's your fault.'

'Whatever…'

"… I wouldn't…." he finally replied out loud, very aware that the longer he paused, the less likely Mimi would pay attention to what he was saying. And he needed her to, or things would not end well.

"…You wouldn't what?" Mimi asked, unable to ignore him any longer. She got onto her knees, brushing away the tears that had fallen.

"I wouldn't be able to choose…. All of my friends are too dear to me to just let die by my word. Just as if it was a choice between Kari and Sora, or Joe and Izzy, or you and Tai…. Ok, well, maybe I might pick Tai to get rid of depending on how bad of a situation it was, even if Sora would kill me after, but that's not the point. The point is, I'd die myself if I could save someone I cared about. I know that might sound stupid…."

"How can that sound stupid? That has got to be the bravest thing anyone could say," Mimi declared, now staring into his eyes, trying to tell if he meant what he was saying. "I'd do the same for anyone I trusted…."

"…and do you trust me?" he asked, unable to take his eyes off of hers, no matter how much he tried.

"…yes… more than anyone else…" she answered, lost once again in his eyes, wandering around in them in hopes of finding a door or something that gave her the proof that she longed for. She wanted to believe that here was someone she could trust, someone who wouldn't leave her or talk about her behind her back. Both of them were so caught up in looking into each other's eyes that neither was even aware that she'd said what she had.

'Ok, this is better than a chick flick!' the words said, interrupting yet again. 'It's sad, it's dramatic, it's emotional and best of all, it's FREE! Now all we need is some popcorn….'

'Would you, for just once in my life, butt out please?!?! Besides, it's not like a chick flick at all.'

'Yes it is.'

'No, it really isn't.'

'Then what movie are you watching? 'Cause the one that involves you and Mimi is for _sure_ a chick flick.'

'Yeah, right. I think someone has a few mental screws loose.'

'You're the one who's the blonde, not me!' they reminded him, and he nearly growled in annoyance.

'Whatever,' he spat back.

'You're not even paying attention to what you two are saying, are you?'

'Yes I am!' he replied.

'Then what did you say?' the words challenged.

'… Uh… I think it had something to do with trust?'

'My God… ok, your fault you didn't catch it, and you're on your own right now. We're done helping you for a while, you can't even see what's going on between you two, that's how blind you are with those stupid walls!'

'Hey, walls help people to not see if I'm worried or sad about anything!'

'Yeah? Well it also blocks out other things to, like something called reality? Remember reality?' they mocked.

'Reality is nothing but pain, torment, and having your heart smashed into millions of pieces,' he spat, becoming even more repulsed by the idea of listening to them. Why would he? What would it really accomplish, other than make him regret his actions towards Mimi yet again.

'Oh really? That's it? There's nothing else good about it?'

'No. There's nothing that is good about it. Absolute-'

'What about love?' Matt abruptly stopped mid-sentence. 'See? You do miss something.'

'You… said…' he whispered, the words echoing in his mind like a large cavern.

'Yes, we said 'Love', what about it?'

'I hate it! I hate it, that's the problem! I haven't missed it, I've been avoiding it like the plague it is! My family was ended because of it, and so was my will to speak of it unless I had to!'

'So what? So even if every girl in the universe came up to you and told you that they loved you, you'd still hate it?'

'Basically,' he said dryly.

'God, she was right about you, wasn't she? You _are_ cold; you have veins of ice. We pity her now….'

'Why do you pity her of all people?! She's a spoiled little brat!'

'Well, from the way you keep looking over her like her guardian angel, you had us fooled!'

'I am not acting like her guardian angel!'

'Oh yeah? Then how come _you_ even debated that you would really leave her alone without protection? Hmmm?'

'….'

'We told you, we know you inside and out.'

'I still think you're mad,' he proclaimed proudly, refusing to lose a figment of his tired and stressed mind. That had to be it; that had to be the only reason he was entertaining these two small words. They were of no matter to him, and he had no reason to listen to them. Words that tried to conquer his rational thinking with the logic of the heart would not be able to win. He'd never admit defeat to them, not after the heartache of losing his mother and brother. He and his logical brain were in charge, not them, and therefore he would not listen to anything they might suggest he should do, no matter how tempting it might be to do so.

'Just wait; you'll realize your mistake sooner or later. And for her sake, we hope it's not the later.'

'Just answer me this: Why are you tormenting me and asking me to do that to Mimi?'

'That's for you to discover, we're done helping for now…. Oh, and if we were you, I'd get going back to the cave. It's already two in the afternoon….'

"It's _what?!_"

"Huh?" Mimi asked, coming out of her trance. "What's wrong?"

"It's two 'o clock already! We were supposed to be back by now!" Matt said, jumping up in surprise. "Oh man, we are going to hear it from Tai! We better get going!"

Quickly he helped her get to her feet, and they were off, running into the water and swimming across as fast as they could to the other side. Not even really caring that they were changing only more than a few yards away from each other, they hastily changed back into their clothes and swiftly headed to the entrance to the cave. Automatically, it seemed, Matt's hand found hers, and they rushed farther into the mountain, hoping to somehow make up for lost time. After wandering around in the dark fro what seemed hours, they finally made it out onto the other side.

"I hope that whatever it was that screamed this morning is gone," Mimi muttered just loud enough for her friend to hear, and he nodded, agreeing whole-heartedly. Whatever it had been, it had made both of them very uneasy.

"I know that this might not be the best idea in the world, but do you want to see if we can just cut across country?"

"Like a shortcut?"

"Yeah, except this shortcut won't be like Tai's, it won't make any long delays."

"Alright, but if we get lost, it's your fault!"

* * *

A/N: Okay! And now you go and you click the little button below here right after where it says 'submit review' and you send me a nice little plea where you beg me to continue. Understand? Good, I can't wait to see all the reviews! 


	7. The Screamy Thingie?

D on't sue me,  
I don't own Digimon.  
S o you won't get a thing  
C ause I'm broke as hell,  
L ike I was when I began.  
A nd if you take this disclaimer  
I will hunt you down and flame you.  
M ine! My poem disclaimer!  
E njoy this next part of the fic, and  
R EAD AND REVIEW PLEASE!

* * *

Back at Camp….

"Ok, T.K., do you know where they were going?" Tai asked for about the sixty-seventh time.

"Tai, he's already told you he doesn't know! Stop aggravating him!" Kari told her big brother. "It's getting exceedingly annoying."

"I'm sorry Tai, but I'm going to have to agree with them," Sora said, backing the two youngsters up.

"Oh… I'm sorry Sora…."

Kari quickly shot a glance over to her boyfriend, who nodded vaguely to show that he had gotten the point. Yep, there was nothing to do between those two but wait. He attempted to get Kari's attention again, this time sending the message: 'I wonder what Matt and Mimi are up to.' She shrugged, but her eyes glistened with excitement and curiosity at the thought.

Almost unexpectedly, there was a sudden noise of thundering feet, and then Matt and Mimi swiftly entered the cave, their faces red from running.

"And where have you two been?" Tai asked his rage blazing like that of an out-of-control forest fire.

"Uh oh…." Mimi whimpered just loud enough for Matt to hear it. "You're on your own, I can't stand it when he's like this!"

"Oh goody…" he muttered sarcastically.

"Do you two even know what time it is?! It's almost four 'o clock! Everyone wanted to go and find our Digimon today, but you know what we did? We sat around waiting for you two to decide to show up so we could leave! And now it's too late, because there's another storm coming in from the east according to Izzy, so we are now forced to stick around here and use the rest of the paper to light a fire tonight! And it's all thanks to you two! Besides, Mimi was sick, so you shouldn't have even let her go outside Matt, let alone drag her to some place God only knows how far away in the condition that she's in!"

"Since when are you Mimi's physician?!" Matt quarreled. "Since when have you suddenly thought it in your best interest about making sure that she was ok?!"

"Last time I checked, you weren't her doctor either!" Tai shot back.

"Quit it, you two! Stop fighting!" Mimi yelled, her voice echoing in the large cave.

Stay out of this Mimi," Tai spat at her. "Since when have you suddenly become God?"

"Shut up Tai, leave her alone," Matt growled, the tone of his voice making it clear that he could only take so much more before he lost his temper.

"Hey, who made you her guardian angel?!"

"Since you abandoned her to die from loss of blood and hypothermia," he snarled.

"That's it!" he cried, lunging at his friend, and throwing a sudden upper-cut, he hit Matt square in the jaw, and he fell down, blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth. Mimi and Sora rushed in, Sora pulling Tai away from him, and Mimi sheltering him from any other possible attacks from the enraged Tai.

"No Mimi, let me at him," Matt said, trying to get up and fight.

"No, no more fighting! I won't let you! I hate it when you two fight!" Mimi wept, holding him down as her tears fell onto his shirt and neck.

Finally, when both boys had calmed down enough, the two girls both pulled the guys they were holding onto over to each other and forced them to apologize to the other.

"Sorry…" they both said, their heads faced away from each other, not wanting to look the other in the eye.

"Ok you two are forgiven," Sora said, both girls yanking them away from the other and forcing them to sit down in a circle with everyone else on opposite sides.

"Ok, now what do you suggest we do, now that those two have 'supposedly' made truce with each other?" Joe asked the group.

"I say that we go scavenge around for something to eat, and then we discuss plans for tomorrow after dinner. How's that idea with everyone?" Sora asked the group. Everyone nodded in agreement, as did their stomachs, as they all joined in chorus, grumbling and rumbling at the thought of food.

"Ok then, let's get to work." T.K. said, jumping to his feet. "Kari, Mimi, and I will go look for food and stuff."

"Ok, you three go do that, Matt, Tai? I know that I'm asking for a lot here, but can you two go and gather firewood? And have both of you come back here without a broken bone, bloody nose or still alive for that matter?"

"Ok…." Tai muttered gloomily.

"Wait, I'll watch over T.K. and the others, and then you can go with Tai. That way, Tai doesn't have to put up with me, and someone is there to watch out for them." Matt said, thinking of a liable excuse as fast as he could.

"Fine, that sounds better. And then Joe and Izzy can start the fire with what wood we have already. Good idea."

Kari and T.K. looked like they we're about to strangle Matt. They had hoped to talk to Mimi in private about the day's adventures with 'prince charming', but it would prove to be a huge challenge with him around. They sighed, and followed his lead out of the cave and off into the forest. But something didn't quite seem right….

"Mimi," Kari asked suddenly. "Where's your bag?"

"My wha-? Oh no! I must have left it on the beach! And it has my_ Digivice and matches in it!_"

Matt turned around to find Mimi in hysterics.

"What am I going to do?! It's got everything in it! It's got my Diary in it, and Izzy said it's going to rain tonight! It'll get ruined! _And what about my Digivice?!?!?!?!?!?! It's the only way Palmon can Digivolve!_"

"Calm down Mimi, I'll go and get it for you, don't worry," Matt offered, hoping that she wouldn't start crying. "Just don't tell Tai where I've gone, alright?"

"But… but what if that screaming thingie comes and goes after you?!" Mimi asked him, terrified of what she imagined it to look like, a creature dressed in black robes on a black, winged, nameless creature chasing after Matt in the dark was not exactly a thought that she treasured.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay, you'll see," and he quickly headed off towards the Ivy cliff.

"The 'screaming thingie'?" T.K. and Kari asked Mimi, confused.

"Well, we were walking along the road, and all of a sudden, I felt these eyes, someone was watching us. At first, I thought that maybe it was you two following us, but then you guys don't have this evil, blood-curdling presence that whoever it was had."

"Well, _I_ wanted to follow you two and find out what you were up to, but then Kari said that we should wait for you to tell us, so I gave in." T.K. interjected. "But you were saying?"

"Well, we both agreed to get off the road, and no sooner did we get off that whatever it had been screamed and then another one answered this one farther away. But it felt like my blood had turned to ice and all the hair on my neck, back, and arms all stood on end. We ended up running all the way back from the cave entrance back to camp, we were so scared we were going to meet what it was that screamed."

"Ok, you lost me there, you ran from what to what?" Kari asked puzzled.

"Oh, well, I might as well start off from the very beginning…."

* * *

A/N: Ok, you know what to do! For those of you waiting for some Taiora, hold on, it'll be coming up in the next chapter:) 


	8. Something's not right here

And because I'm so proud of this little poem, I think I'll just keep using it :)

D on't sue me,  
I don't own Digimon.  
S o you won't get a thing  
C ause I'm broke as hell,  
L ike I was when I began.  
A nd if you take this disclaimer  
I will hunt you down and flame you.  
M ine! My poem disclaimer!  
E njoy this next part of the fic, and  
R EAD AND REVIEW PLEASE!

* * *

"Ok, you lost me there, you ran from what to what?" Kari asked puzzled.

"Oh, well, I might as well start off from the very beginning…."

Three arms full of fruit and berries later….

"…and that's about it, more or less… although I can't really recall the conversation we had after he said that he'd sacrifice himself over killing one of us by his word." Mimi finished as they walked back to the cave.

"Hmmm… now I wonder…." Kari said under her breath.

"Wonder what?" Both T.K. and Mimi asked.

"I wonder if Matt was lying this morning…."

"You mean you think that he…" Mimi inquired.

"Exactly," T.K. proclaimed, backing his girlfriend up. "I think that he's just afraid to open up. He's done that to a lot of people, I've noticed. Don't worry, he'll come around."

'I hope….' Kari and T.K. thought simultaneously, looking at each other out of the corner of their eye.

"You think so?" Mimi asked, nervously biting her lower lip.

"Yeah, positive," T.K. lied.

By this time, they had come close to the entrance, and it was no longer safe to talk for fear of the echo from the cave. Upon entering, they discovered that everyone had been busy. There were three huge piles of firewood, and there was already a blaze in the remains of the previous fire. The cave was now illuminated with light, and the shadowy figures of their friends were pasted like black beings in the edge of the light, scurrying about like little lost ants on a mission.

"Where's Matt?" Sora asked, glancing up from what she was doing. The three of them quickly put their fingers to their lips, warning her to keep quiet. Kari quickly explained what was going on in a soft whisper, and Sora nodded her head, showing that she understood. Turning to Mimi, she whispered,

"I think he likes you,"

Mimi shook her head, telling her friend that she didn't agree with her.

"No, seriously, I think he does. Why else would he be doing this for you?"

"Because he wants to be my friend," she replied sadly. However, Sora didn't quite catch the tone of her voice, so she nodded; turning her head back to the pile of wood she was finishing sorting. Mimi sighed, and after taking the pile of food over to Izzy, Joe, and Tai, she sat down to take a quick rest against one of the stalagmites that were growing up from the ground. She yawned, and she tried to think of the day. She'd had fun today, although Matt and she had fought a little. Ok, maybe a bit more than a little. But he didn't hate her did he? Wasn't that good enough?

'No, he'll never think of me as anything other than a friend, will he?' She sighed, trying to lose herself in another daydream. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to find anything that she really enjoyed that fit her current position. With the exception of one, she couldn't think of anything at that moment. But the daydream she imagined wasn't of him rescuing her. No in fact, it was quite the opposite. Instead of being rescued, she imagined being swallowed whole by a huge black beast, and just as it closed its mouth around her, she heard a voice crying out to her, saying 'Bye Mimi, I picked T.K. over you; don't get upset and start crying like a baby again, ok?' She shuddered, even thinking about that made her sick to her stomach.

Sora came over a few minutes later, telling her that dinner was ready, and soullessly, she headed over to where everyone had now gathered around the fire. She took a few pieces of fruit and ate them, and then she made a small pile of food to save for Matt. See? He probably hated her, and yet, she still was nice to him. What was wrong with her? She should be as cold as him, not as nice as she was being. But she felt that she'd owe him for getting her bag for her, so she continued to eat something and put another in the pile in one of her napkins that Joe had found in the survival bag that was in her pocket.

"Wow Mimi, you sure are eating a lot," Tai commented. "Aren't you afraid that you'll become really fat?"

"TAI!" Sora yelled at him, warning him to shut up. "Are you saying that she's already fat?"

"…No. If anything she's too skinny and it's about time that she gained more weight and…" Sora gave him an evil glare. "No! That's not right; I take it back! I'm sorry!"

But the pain was already dealt out, and there was nothing to be done about it. Mimi gritted her teeth, and continued to eat a little more, even though her appetite had been lost. After a few more minutes of silent eating (A/N: Well, as silent as you can get with Tai eating…), everyone had finished their meal, and sat around the fire talking quietly. No one noticed Mimi get up and head to the back of the cave. This really made her feel even worse than before, and as she was tired, she lay down to sleep. This dream, however, was far from what she had hoped to dream of- everyone was watching as she was gobbled up by a black shadow, Tai yelling that he was glad she was fat because it had saved their lives, and Matt picking up T.K. and leading him away, turning his back on her. She found herself sinking into the dark abyss that had swallowed her, and feared for one terrifying moment that it wasn't a dream, that she was indeed being eaten alive. 'No, no, no, no, no, no, no…' she cried over and over in her mind, trying to wake herself up from what she prayed with all her might really was a nightmare…

Meanwhile…

The rest of the Digidestined children had stacked the rest of the wood onto the fire and made their way back towards Mimi had fallen asleep. Watch rounds had been established, and after about an hour, the team had left Tai sat with his back against the wall of the cave, looking outside at the rain clouds roll in, blocking the moon and the stars from view. Matt had yet to make an appearance, and Tai had left Sora to comfort T.K. in his absence. He could still hear the little boy tossing and turning in a fit of sleep, and he turned towards the noise, hoping to see Sora in her mothering act, attempting to soothe him. But much to his surprise, he found that it was not T.K. in fact who was rolling around, but Mimi.

Unnerved, he clambered back to his feet and slowly stole over to where she was sleeping fitfully. He could see beads of sweat on her brow, and her face was crinkled up as if she were in pain. He looked around for someone, anyone, who could have helped her, but everyone lay in quiet slumber. It looked like he would have to do something about it then.

Catching sight of the water bottle that lay by the fire, he reached over to it, hoping that some of the cold water remained from dinner. But there were only perhaps a few drops left, barely enough to even dampen the handkerchief he'd seen laying by her side. Tai sighed, almost completely at a loss. But he reached up and stroked her brow in what he thought would be a comforting way.

But Mimi cried out softly at the touch, and Tai lurched his hand back, afraid that he'd hurt her somehow. He appeared to be doing that often lately, and it shamed him. He hadn't meant to be rude at dinner, but he had this terrible habit of saying the wrong thing. And he certainly hadn't _meant_ to leave Mimi behind, he'd been worried sick about Agumon and the rest of their Digimon pals. Not to mention Kari, who had seemed so distraught that Tai had feared she might get sick again.

"…why me? … Tai? …why … you let …die?" she asked him even in her sleep, and he stood up quickly, his guilty conscience causing him to lose his courage and flee back to his place at the wall. Horrified at her words and more ashamed of himself at his mistakes, he sat down and wept softly, trying not to let anyone overhear his tears.

How long he sat like that, he knew not, but after what felt like hours he felt a soft, comforting hand on his back, gently soothing him as his tears fell quietly to the cavern's hard rock floor. He flinched and pulled away from that hand, mortified of how he, the bearer of courage, must look to whoever it was. He heard a light sigh, and then felt arms being wrapped around him warmly from behind. He could feel their chin now resting on his shoulder as their hands gently stroked his arms soothingly. For a brief moment, he stopped his tears in delight at the touch, and he fought to stay upright as the soft feeling caused him to go limp. He slumped against the person, unable to control his muscles any longer. But upon hearing a suppressed laugh, he jerked up and away, realizing what must be happening.

"Matt, I am going to _kill_ you!" Tai whispered fiercely, not wanting to wake up Sora or the others. "I am _not _gay, and you impersonating Sora just to get at me just goes too far, you sick little per-"

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A/N: Ha ha ha, I know, I'm evil. But oh well. Unless you want Matt and Tai to be gay lovers in this story, might I suggest you review?

:D


	9. Too Tired to Care

D on't sue me,  
I don't own Digimon.  
S o you won't get a thing  
C ause I'm broke as hell,  
L ike I was when I began.  
A nd if you take this disclaimer  
I will hunt you down and flame you.  
M ine! My poem disclaimer!  
E njoy this next part of the fic, and  
R EAD AND REVIEW PLEASE!

* * *

"Matt, I am going to _kill_ you!" Tai whispered fiercely, not wanting to wake up Sora or the others. "I am _not _gay, and you impersonating Sora just to get at me just goes too far, you sick little per-"

His speech stumbled to a halt as he turned around, fists up, and ready to beat the snot out of the elder blonde, only to discover that in fact, it really was Sora. It was a very shocked and tired-looking Sora, to be more accurate, but still Sora nonetheless. Tai's arms slumped down in defeat, unsure of what to do.

"I…" he started, but Sora cut him off.

"What's wrong, Tai? Why are you… so upset?" she asked, choosing her words carefully, and Tai noticed that she was careful not to accuse him of crying, even though she knew he had been.

"I… I just keep screwing up, is all," Tai said, angry at himself for both hurting Mimi and then now appearing weak in front of the one girl he kept trying (and probably failing) to impress.

Sora sighed again, giving her friend a hug. Tai was a good friend, but he too often beat himself up too much for his failures. Whatever it was this time, she was sure that it was something that could be fixed more easily than he thought. She pulled away, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Now come on, Tai, what do you think you did this time?" she teased him, playfully taking a swing at his shoulder. Tai's head drooped slightly at her words.

"I know I did it though…" he whispered.

"What?"

"I… I hurt Mimi. And she's angry at me, even when she's sleeping…"

Sora nodded. "I know, I saw the whole thing," she admitted, and she saw him visibly flinch. "But at least it's something you can fix."

"How?" he asked, unsure of what she might suggest he do.

"Well, how about tomorrow morning you apologize to her?" she suggested off-hand. "And depending on how she takes it, we'll see what you can do next. But if I know Mimi, she won't hold it against you… for _too_ long."

Tai flinched at that last part, but he knew that he deserved it. "Ok, I will," he promised, and Sora smiled.

"Good," she said as he sat back down on the floor again, his back resting against the wall. Seeing that he'd relaxed finally, she felt it was now the appropriate time to bring up the start of their conversation again. "Now what was that whole thing about you killing Matt for, hmmm?" she asked him sweetly. Tai turned beet red.

"N-nothing Sora," he stuttered, completely embarrassed. "Nothing at all, just a joke."

"Just a joke, huh?" she repeated, a small smile appearing on her face. Tai gulped and nodded. Sora just smiled and sat down next to him. She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, making him glance at her in surprise. But he wasn't a complete idiot, no; he knew what he should do if given the chance. He yawned and stretched for a minute, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, stretched again, and let his left arm drift down around her, hugging her close into his chest for warmth. He grew worried as she stiffened slightly, but a quick glance reassured him that she was only yawning herself.

"Sorry, your yawning is contagious," she apologized, a slight blush on her face as she caught his occasional glances at her face. She wasn't quite sure why she was this close to Tai, why he had put his arm around her. She wasn't even sure why she enjoyed his cheesy attempts at comfort so much. But she did. Those attempts, just like Tai, were both silly but honest and courageous, and it all just simply made her feel warm and loving. They always had, even when they had first met at camp. She'd felt awkward at first in the group, being slightly shy, but Tai had welcomed her to play soccer with him right after their first meeting, and from there, things had only brought them that much closer together.

"You know, you're beautiful when you do that."

Startled out of her thoughts, she opened her eyes. What on earth was he talking about now? She wasn't beautiful; if anyone out of the group was, it was either Kari or Mimi, not her. She was the tomboy, the one who had never willingly used make-up in her life, the one who wasn't afraid to get dirty and covered from head to toe in mud and grass stains. She wasn't scared of spiders, though snakes made her a little squeamish. What was he talking about; her, beautiful?

"I mean it," he said, catching the look of disbelief on her face.

"What do you mean?" she asked him softly, still not believing she was hearing him correctly.

"That you're beautiful when you blush," he admitted, a small hint of color appearing faintly under his eyes. He turned his head away slightly, hoping Sora hadn't seen him.

Sora stared at him, unsure of what to make of the compliment. She sat there in his arms, wondering what exactly he had meant by the compliment. She finally plucked up the courage to ask him, but found he had drifted to sleep and was snoring gently, his head leaning against the cave wall behind him.

"Silly Tai," she chuckled to herself, nuzzling her way deeper into his warm embrace. 'A few minutes of sleep wouldn't hurt him,' she thought sleepily. 'I'll just let him sleep for a bit, then wake him up for watch.'

And when Matt _did_ come back, nearly an hour later and amidst the first drops of rain, that is how he found them- lying in each others arms and soft smiles on both of their faces. He chuckled slightly at the sight, knowing that it had been only a matter of time before they had found their feelings for each other. They were meant to be together, and anyone could see that.

He made his way to stand by the remains of the fire, but soon discovered he couldn't tell which one of the sleeping figures was Mimi. In the dull light that remained, Matt could barely make out those around him, but he figured he could probably guess rather well who was who. He could see a slight reflection of light coming from the person at the far end of the group, and quickly deduced that it must be Joe and his glasses down there. Next to him lay a much short body, but not quite as small as T.K. or Kari, so that had to be Izzy. There was a gap of space between him and the next body, and he suspected that Sora had been there in order to make sure the fire was kept going. That is, before she'd gone to sleep with Tai.

'Gone to sleep with Tai,' he thought again, repeating it again and again in his mind, eventually bringing a slight snicker to his face. He knew that there was no way it was meant in the way that had suddenly come to his mind, but he still couldn't help but enjoy the small play on words for at least a few moments. Finally, as the thought amused him no longer, he brought himself to go along the line of people and continue to identify those on the other side of the fire.

The next body was the smallest, and was holding the person next to them in their arms, a person only slightly taller than them. That had to be T.K. and Kari, together. His smirk returned slightly, the sight confirming the suspicions he'd held earlier that day about their feelings towards each other. Which meant that the figure that was closest to the other wall had to be Mimi. Sure enough, he caught sight of her pink hat resting by her head.

He walked over to Mimi quietly, and carefully dropped her purse at her feet. Her Digivice bleeped a quick and hushed noise of comprehension of the return to its owner, then lay quiet as it had been before, attached to her purse strap. But the owner was being far from silent, tossing and turning on the rocks every few minutes, even making slight whimpering noises now and then.

Matt frowned, wondering if she was having a nightmare. He knelt down beside her and reached out to brush back a strand of hair that had fallen over her face when suddenly Mimi's right arm lifted and rose towards the ceiling, as if reaching for something. She called out softly in her sleep, and Matt took her hand, hoping to soothe away whatever was frightening her in her dreams.

"Matt…" she called out as barely a muttered whisper. "Don't… me. Please don't leave… Mmm... Matt?"

'It's like she knows I'm here somehow,' he thought, and smiled slightly despite himself. He leaned over to whisper in her ear, using his left hand to brush the strand of hair behind the ear as he spoke.

"Don't worry, Mimi. I'm here now, and I won't _ever_ leave you…" he promised, hoping that somehow his words would do the trick.

"Matt…" she called out once more, then closed her hand around his and brought it to rest down by her head, making him smile even more. Her face, which had been wrung with worry and what bordered on pain, relaxed and a slight smile of peace raised the corners of her mouth. When she smiled like that, she was… she was so… so…

'Beautiful?' the words supplied to him, and he nodded, not even aware that he had just agreed with the very thought that had been torturing him for the past two days. Wanting to be sure that she slept, he lay down beside her on his side, his right hand still in hers. He closed his eyes, finally glad that he could close them for the night. He could feel Mimi shifting in her sleep, but it wasn't as rough or sudden as it had been. He was so tired, but he lifted his heavy eyelids for just a few seconds longer to glimpse Mimi's innocent face before he passed on to the many worlds of his dreams.

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A/N: There. Isn't that much better? Did you _honestly_ think I'd make them gay when I posed that last chapter? I suggest you review if you want more: D 


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